Waste
By Chidinma Agu
Lagos, June 25, 2018 (NAN) The Chairman, Nigerian Environmental Society (NES), Lagos Mainland Chapter, Dr Eugene Itua, on Monday said the huge plastics and nylon waste generated by the aviation industry was harmful to the environment.
Itua said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
The chairman said that most of the meals served in the aircraft had plastics and nylon wraps, while most aircraft are built with “single use plastics.
“Unfortunately for the environment, the aviation industry is one of the biggest in terms of plastics and nylon waste generation.
“And interestingly, when we talk about the biggest, we are saying this in the light of single use generation of waste.
“Single use simply means that you use an item only once and you no longer need it.
“All the meals served in the aircraft from tooth picks to cutlery are wrapped in nylons or made of plastics.
“What do they do with the nylons and plastics waste at their destinations?
“Are they sorted or recycled?; What is happening to them?; What of the aircraft itself?. Some of the components are plastics.
“If you dump an aircraft that is no longer in use, what happens to it?; It could be leaching.
“Within the aviation sector, so much waste is generated that is not good for the environment,” he stressed.
Itua said there were always huge plastic containers majority of which were table water and mineral bottles.
He called on the industry to look for a solution by adopting use of degradable materials to pack meals.
He also advised that passengers should be discouraged from bringing plastic bottles to the airports, while airports with shops in its vicinity should be encouraged to use paper to wrap things for customers. (NAN)
ACA/ECN/IM
Edited by Emmanuel Nwoye/Ibrahim Mammaga